11 Best Fighting Games Of All Time That You Should Know Update 04/2024

best fighting games of all time

A lot has changed for gamers since the days of games like Karate Champ, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, and The Way of the Exploding Fist.

It has been a long time since Street Fighter II was a huge hit. The fighting game genre has become a huge power. It has a lot of different types of fighters you can play with, like traditional 2D fighters, fast-paced anime fighters, methodical 3D fighters, expansive arena fighters, and party brawlers for multiple people.

A lot of major FGC tournaments are being streamed live to everyone at home, so everyone can feel like they’re at the event even if they can’t be there. Thanks to Capcom, NetherRealm, SNK, Arc System Works, and more, the genre has been given a lot of classic games that are still played very often.

Our time has come to show all the love we can muster to 40 of the best fighting games ever.

1. ‘Super Street Fighter II Turbo’

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

Street Fighter II started a new craze for fighting games that flooded arcades and random gas stations with young people who couldn’t get enough of the games. And Capcom has done a great job of adding more characters, stages, and mechanics to make it even better over time. The best version is called Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and it’s been called the best one yet because it has better gameplay. Adding super combos was the final touch to a game that was close to perfect when they were added to the mix. To show you how good this game is, you only need to look at how it’s still being played today.

2. ‘Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold’

If you want to read about things that happened before Street Fighter II, you can read about them in Street Fighter Alpha. It’s still our favourite game in the series. Street Fighter Alpha II is already a great game on its own. Its faster-paced combat, Custom Combo system, and Alpha Counters make it a great game. New moves and character balance changes have been made in Street Fighter Alpha II Gold, which makes it even better. It also includes the X-Men vs. Street Fighter version of Cammy in the game. Do not forget to look for this pick on the PS2’s Street Fighter Alpha Anthology.

3. ‘Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike’

Street Fighter III 3rd Strike

A lot of people didn’t play Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike when it first came out in 1999. But thanks to the FGC’s love for this game, it’s become more popular and is known as one of the best 2D fighting games. Some of the things that make 3rd Strike so popular are its fluid 2D art style, a roster full of fighters that fans love, a Godlike soundtrack, and a system called Parry that lets you dodge. “Evo Moment 37” will show you that 3rd Strike can get people excited.

4. ‘Ultra Street Fighter IV’

For bringing back the fighting game genre and the whole FGC, Street Fighter IV should be given all the credit in the world! And thanks to more versions, Capcom’s Street Fighter comeback continued to move forward over its long life. The last game in Street Fighter IV came in the form of a high-quality “Ultra” version. Extra characters, new stages, the Ultra Double Combo, the Red Focus Attack, and more are all in Ultra Street Fighter IV, which comes with a lot of extra goodies. The extra character balances and “Omega Mode” moveset changes also did a good job of making Street Fighter IV’s last game go out on a high note.

5. ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’

Super Smash Bros. Melee

We’re assuming that this is what is going to happen. Sakurai didn’t know that this sequel to Super Smash Bros. would be around for a long time after it was released in 2001 on the Nintendo GameCube. People who play eSports are very interested in playing Super Smash Bros. Melee because it has simple but very complicated tools for fights. There’s a lot more to love about this platform party game than its addictive gameplay, though. It has a roster full of Nintendo icons, a lot of single-player modes, and a high fun factor for casual gamers that makes Melee a classic.

6. ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’

It says, “Everyone is here!” To make this game’s biggest roster yet, Sakurai and the rest of the development team took things a step further. If you bought a Fighters Pass, you got even more amazing gaming heroes to fight with. Every single playable character from the previous games is back. As a game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a love letter to all of gaming. It looks and sounds like the ultimate crossover fight that kids in the 1980s and 1990s dreamed of back then. We can’t believe that the next Super Smash Bros. game will be even better than this one!

7. ‘Mortal Kombat II’

Mortal Kombat II

Because of its gratuitous violence and over-the-top Fatalities, the first Mortal Kombat game was a big change for the better. Mortal Kombat II came around and showed even more of Ed Boon and his development studio’s big idea. This sequel had a huge improvement in how it looked. This made its gory “kombat” look even more real. The show’s main characters, like Jax, Kung Lao, and Shao Khan, were shown here. As long as Mortal Kombat II is around, it’s still a great game and it’s what the Mortal Kombat series needed when it was first made.

8. ‘Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3’

Now, let’s talk about Mortal Kombat 3 together! And more specifically, we like the new version of the game the best. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 brought with it the already strong gameplay from the first version of the game. Besides, this version of Mortal Kombat 3 brought back some old favourites and added some very cool unlockables to make the game even more fun. This is a good thing. 2v2 mode is a lot of fun, by the way. If we had to choose between Mortal Kombat Trilogy and this version of Mortal Kombat 3, we’d pick this one any day of the week!

9. Injustice 2  

Injustice 2  

With DC Comics, you might think that NetherRealm’s ultra-violent sensibilities wouldn’t work well with their all-ages brands. But the studio behind Mortal Kombat did a great job with the Injustice series. In Injustice 2, NetherRealm’s gory finishers turned into over-the-top superhero slapstick, but the tone works out well for the game. Injustice 2’s single-player story wasn’t as good as the first game’s, but NetherRealm’s combat was better, which led to a lot of fans on the competitive scene. The Flash travels back in time to smash Superman’s head against a T. rex. Even though we’ve seen hours of superhero fights, we still giggle with delight when The Flash does this!

10. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Appealing to two different audiences is no easy feat, but Atlus managed to please Persona fans and fighting game enthusiasts with Persona 4 Arena. Ultimax, the game’s sequel, continued the RPG-influenced story and improved the original fighting ideas, which made for a unique mix. It provided new characters based on a variety of novel gameplay mechanics, and it didn’t skimp on the cutscenes. It was in the middle of two different types of games. Ultimax had something for everyone.

11. Dead Or Alive 4  

In the early months of the Xbox 360’s life, the console was in need of high-quality games that could show off what the new generation could do. Dead or Alive 4 was the perfect match for the job. Dead or Alive’s fourth game was one of its most well-designed. It had a complex counter system and a high level of fluidity in animation. It was also the first game in the series to allow people to play together on the web (a novelty in 2005).